How to Get 81.5 MPG

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How to Get 81.5 MPG

The Ford Fusion hybrid doesn't have much sex appeal, but it sure is fuel-efficient. Even Ford was surprised to squeeze 1,445.7 miles out of the car's 17.5-gallon fuel tank. Now that we've talked to the car's head engineer, we're pretty sure you could too if you're willing to trade speed and comfort for efficiency.

Hypermiling king Wayne Gerdes joined NASCAR driver Carl Edwards and a team of Ford engineers in pushing a bone-stock 2010 Fusion Hybrid to 81.5 mph - effectively doubling the car's claimed range of 700 miles - during a three-day hypermiling publicity stunt dubbed "The 1,000 Mile Challenge." They almost broke a hypermiling distance recordset in 2002.

"When we started out 1,000 miles seemed like a stretch," Sherif Marakby, the Fusion Hybrid's chief engineer, told us. "But then we were averaging 70 and 80 mpg and couldn't believe it."

So how'd they double the car's official fuel economy figure?

By driving slowly. Alone. In circles.

As we told you shortly after Ford finished the trip, the team of seven drivers started at Mount Vernon, Virginia, early on the morning of April 25th and drove the George Washington Parkway until they ran out of gas 69 hours later. That's driver Tom Rolewicz in the pic, taken just after the car ran out of gas at 1,445 miles. Although the speed limit along the 26-mile roadway is 45 mph, Marakby said they averaged 35.

"Yeah, we saw a couple obscene gestures for going so slow," he said. "But for the most part, on account of all the markings on the side of the Fusion, people understood that what we were doing was for a good cause."

Drivers took turns behind the wheel, pulling stints of three to four hours before pulling over for the next guy. Marakby said there was just one guy in the car about 90 percent of the time to keep the weight down. Other tricks included:

Maintaining even throttle pressure and accelerating slowly and smoothly.

Coasting to a stop at signals whenever possible.

Using the "pulse and glide" technique of speeding up, then coasting, then speeding up again.

"It definitely took some adjusting," Marakby told us. "I had to stay alert and maintain a constant speed. It was hot because the air conditioning was off and the windows were closed to cut back on fuel consumption. Moreover, we tried to avoid pot holes at all costs."

No AC and the windows closed? Ugh.

It helps that the Fusion Hybrid is pretty efficient out of the box, getting an EPA certified 41 mpg city / 36 highway. Our friends at Jalopnik got 43.8 mpg when they flogged one of the eco-wonders.. Marakby attributes the 1,445-mile hypermiling achievement to advancements Ford made to the Fusion Hybrid after learning from the Escape Hybrid.

"We improved all modules and optimized the hybrid control system," he said. "So now the Fusion engine shuts down twice as much as its predecessor. In addition, the average max speed on battery power has been raised from 30 mph to 47 mph."

He also put in a plug for the "Smart Gauge with EcoGuide," a dashboard display (shown below) that effectively turns hypermiling into a video game and teaches you how to save fuel.